1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a spinning reel, and more particularly to a spinning reel including a reel body, a handle shaft rotatably supported to the reel body, a spool shaft supported to the reel body to be axially slidable thereto and for supporting a spool, a rotary frame rotatable with a rotation of the handle shaft thereby to wind up a line about an outer periphery of the spool and a slide mechanism for causing the spool shaft to slide with a rotation of the handle shaft.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In a spinning reel of the above-noted type, there are known various kinds of slide mechanisms for causing the slide motion of the spool shaft. The constructions of these conventional mechanisms will be described next.
In one known construction disclosed in e.g. a Japanese published utility model Showa: 60-26626. The construction essentially comprises a rigid transverse shaft defining a spiral groove in its outer periphery and an engaging member engageable with the spiral groove.
In another known construction disclosed in e.g. a Japanese published patent Showa: 59-196026, the construction essentially comprises a slide element gear rotatable with a rotation of a handle shaft and having a pivot shaft positioned on the opposite side across the handle shaft to a rotary frame, a slide element slidable back and forth along a guide portion attached to the reel body so as to cause a spool shaft to slide in reciprocating motion and a cam mechanism for transducing the rotary motion of the slide element gear into the reciprocating motion of the slide element.
The first-noted conventional construction has a cost disadvantage. That is, it is very difficult to cut the spiral groove in the outer periphery of the rigid transverse shaft and the manufacturing cost of the spinning reel tends to be very high because of this difficulty.
On the other hand, the second-noted conventional construction has a space disadvantage. That is, in this construction, the slide element gear, which occupies considerably large space, is positioned on the opposite side across the handle shaft to the rotary frame. Accordingly, in comparison with the above first construction, the reel body tends to have a considerably large externally exposed portion, thereby imposing inconvenience in the handling of the spinning reel.
In view of the above-described state of the art, the primary object of the present invention is to provide a spinning reel which can be manufactured at low cost and which is formed compactly as a whole for easy handling.